John Wheeler: Southwestern water problems likely came from not listening to good science - INFORUM

John Wheeler: Southwestern water problems likely came from not listening to good science - InForum | Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo news, weather and sports

John Wheeler: Southwestern water problems likely came from not listening to good science

A much more complete study indicated average flows would be much lower.

FARGO — There are three kinds of science: good science, bad science and science some people don't want to hear. A recent report from Colorado University's Shemin Ge reveals how a 1922 decision about the distribution of Colorado River water across seven arid states in the southwestern U.S. may have been made with bad science because they did not want to base their decision on what has turned out to be a better estimate of the average annual Colorado River discharge.

The higher estimate was a far less thorough study but painted a rosier picture of the water that would be available for agriculture and urban expansion. A much more complete study had indicated average flows would be much lower. Throughout much of the mid-to-late Twentieth Century, precipitation in the Rockies was quite high, but it has been in decline the last few decades, causing water shortages and political warfare over water rights.

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